Xiaomi to Price Mi 5 At $385 in a Bid to Establish Itself As “Premium” Brand

Xiaomi Mi 5 is certainly one of the most anticipated smartphones of this year. The device was almost ready to hit the shelves a few months ago, but the company itself preferred to delay the launch to 2016 to ensure the “best user experience.”

The device was initially designed to come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810, however that solution did not convince engineers at Xiaomi because of the known overheating issues of the chipset. So the company has opted to wait and equip the Mi 5 with the latest generation Snapdragon 820.

The new SoC has already been shown not only to avoid abnormal heating, instead guarantees improved performance with 40 per cent less power consumption.

Now, the Chief Engineer of the China Telecom Guangzhou Research Institute Cheng Guifeng has shared some info regarding price of the upcoming Mi 5 which is planned for January 2016. He said on his Weibo page that the smartphone will be sold at a price somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan, or between 308 and 460 USD.

Specifically, the base model is expected to cost 2,499 yuan (US$385), while the higher-end variant could be priced at around 3,000 yuan (US$460).

The price point mentioned by Guifeng is somewhat higher than previous rumors reported. If earlier rumors are to be believed, the device will cost 1,999 Yuan, but it appears that it might cost a bit more than that. According to Guifeng, the higher price range for Xiaomi Mi 5 is part of the company’s strategy to improve its image as a premium brand in 2016.

Well, we’ll keep an out and let you know when more information on the topic rolls out. In the meantime, share your thoughts on Xiaomi’s alleged strategy to position itself as a “premium” brand in the market.

Gohar is the lead editor at TechFrag. He has a wide range of interests when it comes to tech but he's currently spending a big chunk of his time writing about privacy, cyber security, and anything policy related.